Guides
Straight answers to fire service questions.
Plain-language guides to the terms, technology, and requirements fire departments deal with, written by people who build fire records software for a living. No fluff, no scare pieces: the answer up front, the detail underneath, and sources you can check.
Common questions
Where to find the answer you're looking for.
Where do I start if my department is new to NERIS?
The NERIS Resource Center. It covers what NERIS is, how it differs from NFIRS, what an Entity ID is, and a readiness checklist you can work through before your deadline.
How do I evaluate fire department software vendors?
Start with the 2026 Buyer's Guide. It lists the twelve questions to put to every vendor in writing, and the evaluation mistakes that cost departments the most. Then use the comparison page to see where RedAlert does and doesn't fit.
Where can I read about ISO Public Protection Classification ratings?
In the ISO rating cluster: what the score measures, how the 50/50 split between water supply and fire department works, and what actually moves a class.
Is there anything here on grants and funding?
Yes, the grants and funding cluster covers AFG and SAFER, what reviewers look for in a narrative, and LOSAP for volunteer departments.
Are these guides specific to RedAlert customers?
No. They're written to be useful whether or not you ever buy anything from us. Where a guide touches something RedAlert does, we say so plainly rather than burying a pitch in the middle of an explainer.
Are the guides kept current?
Yes. Each guide carries a last-updated date, and we revise them when a standard, code edition, grant program, or federal reporting requirement changes. Where we cite an outside source, we link it so you can check it yourself.
Can I use these guides for compliance decisions?
Use them to get oriented, not to satisfy a requirement. Standards and grant rules are applied differently by different jurisdictions, verify anything you'll rely on with the issuing body or your authority having jurisdiction.
Have a question a guide didn't answer?
Ask a person who knows the job. No phone tree, no ticket black hole.